For the fourth time in less than two weeks, airplane mechanical problems have beset the increasingly travel-jittery press corps accompanying Vice President George Bush. More than 40 reporters, photographers and technicians were stranded here Wednesday morning when a nearly new United Air Lines 737 charter jet malfunctioned. A starter for one of its turbine engines failed and cracked. Bush continued on schedule aboard Air Force Two for appearances in Detroit.

At a loss to explain the spectacular air show crash Sunday of an F-117A in a Baltimore suburb, the Air Force on Monday grounded its fleet of stealth jet fighters until investigators can provide some clues about what went wrong. Military officials said the probe was focusing on the aircraft's left wing, parts of which broke away moments before the plane plummeted to the ground. "This is one we've certainly never seen before," said Brig. Gen. Dennis R.

The nose gear of a Piedmont Airlines F-28 twin-engine jetliner with 58 people aboard collapsed on landing Saturday at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, officials said. No injuries were reported.

The Air Force suspended all of its flights in restricted training areas along the East Coast after four National Guard fighter jets screamed past a civilian airliner Friday off the Maryland shore. It was the second harrowing incident involving National Guard F-16s and airliners in the area in three days.

Federal authorities investigating the crash of a small plane near Frederick, Md., were looking into whether the crash might be connected with the landing at about the same time of a jet carrying President Reagan and his wife, Nancy. The wreckage of a single-engine Piper Arrow was found in mountainous terrain west of Frederick.

Five men were presumed dead after a twin-engine Army intelligence plane crashed into the Patuxent River as it was preparing to land at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in southern Maryland, Army officials said. The crew had been dropping flares into the bay to test tracking equipment shortly before the crash, the Army said. Rescue teams found the fuselage of the Spanish-made turboprop plane intact but called off the rescue effort at dark.

An Air Jamaica jumbo jet blew two tires during takeoff Sunday in Baltimore and was forced to make an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials said. The Lockheed L-1011, with 340 passengers aboard, landed safely after dumping 15,000 pounds of fuel over the Atlantic, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said. The Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the cause of the blowout.

At a loss to explain the spectacular air show crash Sunday of an F-117A in a Baltimore suburb, the Air Force on Monday grounded its fleet of stealth jet fighters until investigators can provide some clues about what went wrong. Military officials said the probe was focusing on the aircraft's left wing, parts of which broke away moments before the plane plummeted to the ground. "This is one we've certainly never seen before," said Brig. Gen. Dennis R.

An empty missile rack and a fuel tank fell off an F-18 fighter jet during a performance test Wednesday in a remote area of Maryland's Eastern Shore, Navy officials said. The 350-gallon tank was found in a field next to Cambridge Airport. No injuries were reported.

The Air Force suspended all of its flights in restricted training areas along the East Coast after four National Guard fighter jets screamed past a civilian airliner Friday off the Maryland shore. It was the second harrowing incident involving National Guard F-16s and airliners in the area in three days.

A National Guard A-10 warplane crashed along the Maryland coast, hours after another single-seat military plane crashed offshore. Both pilots were missing. The first plane was a Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet, based at Andrews Air Force Base as part of a Marine Corps Reserve unit. The second plane crashed roughly 75 miles southeast of Washington.

An empty missile rack and a fuel tank fell off an F-18 fighter jet during a performance test Wednesday in a remote area of Maryland's Eastern Shore, Navy officials said. The 350-gallon tank was found in a field next to Cambridge Airport. No injuries were reported.

Five men were presumed dead after a twin-engine Army intelligence plane crashed into the Patuxent River as it was preparing to land at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in southern Maryland, Army officials said. The crew had been dropping flares into the bay to test tracking equipment shortly before the crash, the Army said. Rescue teams found the fuselage of the Spanish-made turboprop plane intact but called off the rescue effort at dark.

Federal authorities investigating the crash of a small plane near Frederick, Md., were looking into whether the crash might be connected with the landing at about the same time of a jet carrying President Reagan and his wife, Nancy. The wreckage of a single-engine Piper Arrow was found in mountainous terrain west of Frederick.

For the fourth time in less than two weeks, airplane mechanical problems have beset the increasingly travel-jittery press corps accompanying Vice President George Bush. More than 40 reporters, photographers and technicians were stranded here Wednesday morning when a nearly new United Air Lines 737 charter jet malfunctioned. A starter for one of its turbine engines failed and cracked. Bush continued on schedule aboard Air Force Two for appearances in Detroit.

The nose gear of a Piedmont Airlines F-28 twin-engine jetliner with 58 people aboard collapsed on landing Saturday at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, officials said. No injuries were reported.

A National Guard A-10 warplane crashed along the Maryland coast, hours after another single-seat military plane crashed offshore. Both pilots were missing. The first plane was a Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet, based at Andrews Air Force Base as part of a Marine Corps Reserve unit. The second plane crashed roughly 75 miles southeast of Washington.

An Air Jamaica jumbo jet blew two tires during takeoff Sunday in Baltimore and was forced to make an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials said. The Lockheed L-1011, with 340 passengers aboard, landed safely after dumping 15,000 pounds of fuel over the Atlantic, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said. The Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the cause of the blowout.